Saed Hindash/The Star-LedgerRutgers guard Mike Rosario struggled Tuesday night against DePaul, but made shots when they were needed. By Santosh Venkataraman
Special for The Star-Ledger

ROSEMONT, Ill. ROSEMONT, Ill. — Rutgers knew a matchup on the road against the worst team in the Big East was the perfect spot for a letdown two nights after their stunning victory over Georgetown.

The Scarlet Knights certainly played like it early last night as Mike Rosario and his teammates turned in a listless first half. But they persevered, fighting back from a 17-point deficit to end a 17-game road losing streak that dated back to last season to earn their fifth win in six games, 68-64, over DePaul.

“To grind one out on the road with the young guys that we have, being down 17 and sticking with it, it’s just a great, great win for us,” coach Fred Hill said.

The Scarlet Knights (14-12, 4-9) started off poorly, never leading in the first half and trailing 35-24 at the break. They committed 11 first-half turnovers that led to 14 points for the Blue Demons, who used Mac Koshwal to dominate inside with 15 of his 24 points in those first 20 minutes.

Rosario may have been the biggest culprit, missing his first five shots and throwing an ill-advised, over-the-head pass that led to a turnover on one possession and missing a no-look, reverse layup on another. That caused Hill to yank Rosario from the game for a brief sideline conversation with his star as play went on without him.

“All I did was say, ‘Mike, slow down. Relax. Let the game come to you,’” Hill said.

The message was received. Rosario put Rutgers ahead for good with a 3-pointer that made it 63-60 with 3:24 to go in the game after giving the Knights their first lead at 58-57 with a 3 2:18 earlier.

“He just told me to keep working and just to move on to the next play,” Rosario said. “Obviously, I started the game slow, trying to find my shot, trying to find my rhythm. I was doing plays that I normally don’t do.”

Once they had the lead, the Scarlet Knights withstood a tense finish as Koshwal missed a 1-and-1 with 42.1 seconds left and Rutgers ahead by two points. Rosario and DePaul’s Will Walker each made a pair at the line before Austin Johnson sealed it for the Scarlet Knights with two foul shots with 6.2 seconds left.

Hamady Ndiaye made all six of his shots and fouled out with 15 points and 13 rebounds to lead the Knights while freshman Dane Miller added 14 and eight rebounds. Jon Mitchell, the star of Sunday’s win over the Hoyas, added 10 boards as Rutgers dominated on the glass, 43-25.

“Rutgers, I give them a lot of credit,” said Koshwal, who had 12 rebounds and a career-high eight steals. “They had so many guys attacking the boards.”

DePaul (8-17, 1-12) still held a 42-29 lead after Walker’s three-point play early in the second half. That’s when Rutgers finally came alive. The Scarlet Knights scored 12 straight to pull within one, and then finally got even at 46-46 on Miller’s basket with 11:14 to go.

The question then became whether Rutgers could get over the hump. Rosario provided the answer.